The split, angled baffle offers time-alignment for the Audio Technology bass and mid drivers and the Scanspeak tweeter. The extensive faceting is there to minimise diffractive affects. The sloping rear baffle adds asymmetry to the enclosed volumes. The massive, twin, rear facing reflex ports are heavily flared to help provide a smooth impedance match to the outside world. The outriggers and their adjustable, stainless-steel feet, each mechanically coupled via a ceramic ball, provide stability, an exit path for stored energy and precise angular adjustment of the speaker. So far, so familiar. But the rear baffle also gives the first hint to the nature of the El Diablo’s infusion of current thinking and expertise. That row of four binding posts might not seem that unusual in themselves: after all, bi-wired crossovers are hardly new, to Peak or the wider world. The benefits of properly executed bi-wiring are well-recognised: the advantages of vertical bi-amping are even more profound. But what makes the presence of these four binding posts significant is the identity of the posts themselves. The large diameter, plastic bodied cylinders are hardly cut from the same cloth as the substantial cabinet and its associated hardware. Yet these are Argento binding posts, demonstrably superior on musical grounds, to pretty much everything else on the market. One of the industry’s best kept secrets (a misguided affection for large chunks of gaudy, gold-plated brass is an on-going affliction) you don’t arrive at the Argento posts by accident. Their presence is a clear indicator of both close attention to detail and careful listening.
While we’re on the subject of fixtures and fittings, it’s also worth noting that the El Diablo is a joy to set-up – and not just because of the accessible feet and nice, widely spaced terminals. Despite having greater bass depth and weight than the Sinfonia, the El Diablo is actually easier to position and optimise. That’s down to the deft voicing of the bottom-end, low-frequencies that seem to positively resist unfortunate interference from adjacent boundaries. But don’t go thinking you can take short-cuts – and don’t be tempted to give up too soon when it comes to dialling in position, attitude and in particular, height. The El Diablo will sound great in a whole host of different rooms. How great depends on you putting in the work. It’s important to get all four feet equally loaded and, whilst past experience with the Sinfonia and Dragon Legend suggested leaving the locking caps off altogether, the introduction of Acouplex washers as an after-market fix means that the locking caps now function as intended. Peak supply an adjusting rod for the feet (in the form of a screwdriver with a cylindrical rather than a flat head). This makes tiny angular adjustments of the speaker easy, but should also be used to make sure you don’t inadvertently ‘adjust’ the foot when tightening down the locking cap. The only thing to look out for is that on very uneven floors, or with an extremely low or high listening seat, you might run out of thread to lock the feet, especially with the washers in place. But generally speaking, the washers and locking caps are the way to go.
